Sylvania



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 W. ROTTHOFF & G. K. HAMPELDT. CHARGINGAPPARATUS FOR BLAST FURNACES. No. 585,596. Patented June29,1897.

w A k Q Q 5 3 w E a $4 959 e x i "BEBE wn'nzssss mvemons V 1% W Y. flwffiyWW UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VILLIAM ROTTHOFF AND GEORGE K; HAMFELDT, OF DUQUESNE, PENN- SYLVANIA.

CHARGING APPARATUS FOR BLAST-FURNACES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Iatent No. 585,596, dated June 29,1897 Application filed November 9, 1896. fierial No. 611,446. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM ROTTl-IOFF and GEORGE K. HAMFELDT, ofDuquesne, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Charging Apparatus forBlast-Furnaces, &c., of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, referenoe being had to the accompanying drawings, formingpart of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a top plan viewshowing our improved blast-furnace plant. Fig. 2 is a side elevation ofthe same, partly in section.

Our invention relates to the charging of stock into blast-furnaces andis designed to provide an improved construction whereby an endlessbucket conveyer may be employed from which stock drops continuously intoa preliminary hopper, and from which it is dropped at intervals into alower hopper.

In the drawings, in which similar numerals indicate corresponding parts,2 represents a blast-furnace, to the top of which leads an endless chain3, this chain being'provided with a series of buckets 4, which arearranged to receive the stock, carry it upwardly, and dump it into thetop of the furnace. This bucket conveyer may be of any desiredconstruction, having the usual sprocket-wheels 5 5 at its ends, itsframework being preferably supported upon a tower 6, through which thechain passes. To the lower portion of this bucket conveyer leads ahorizontal endless conveyer 7, this being arranged to dump upon thebucket conveyer near its lower end. Upon each side of this horizontalconveyer are arranged a series of bins 8, which are provided with spoutsleading to scales 9, from which the stock is discharged directly uponthe horizontal conveyer. These bins are filled with the material to becharged, 10, for instance, .being an ore-bin, 11 a limestone-bin, and 12a coke-bin. The coke-bin is shown as having a spout arranged so as todischarge the coke directly into the buckets of the in clined conveyer,and we prefer to so arrange such bin, though it may be placed andconstructed as are the other bins. The bins are filled from an overheadtrack 13, leading above their tops, and the space at the rear of thesebins may be used as a stock-yard for ore. 14: are scales placed near theend of the horizontal conveyer, upon which stock may be weighed and thendumped upon the horizontal conveyer from ore-barrows, which may beoperated by hand. The inclined conveyer is driven by a power connectionat its lower sprocket-wheel, and the right-hand sprocketwheel of thehorizontal conveyer may be connected. therewith, so that both chains aredriven from the same source of power.

The buckets of the inclined conveyer discharge into a preliminary hopper15, having a sealing bell-bottom 17, from which at intervals the stockis dropped into the lower main hopper 16, the bell-bottom 18 of which islowered at intervals to discharge the stock into the furnace. These twohoppers are necessary when the endless conveyer is used, since withoutthe preliminary hopper the charge dropping from the buckets would not beuniformly distributed in the lower hopper, and a continuous feed couldnot be dropped directly into the lower hopper, since this is atintervals opened into the furnace.

The advantages of our invention will be apparent to those skilled in theart, since a continuous even feed of stock is afforded with little or nohand-labor.

Many changes may be made in the construction of the conveyors and thebins without departing from our invention, since We claim- Means forfeeding stock to a blast-furnace, comprising an inclined endless bucketconveyer leading to its top, means for feeding stock to the lower partof the conveyer, a pre liminary hopper into which the stock iscontinuously delivered by the buckets, said hopper having a sealingbell-bottom, and a sec- 0nd hopper below the preliminary hopper,

said lower hopper having also a bell-bottom by which the stock may bedropped at intervals; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set

